This is certainly a factor, but there are additional factors, too, that mean demand has been increased. In the UK mortgage application controls were increased

This is certainly a factor, but there are additional factors, too, that mean demand has been increased. In the UK mortgage application controls were increased after 2008. This meant it became particularly difficult for first-time buyers to get a mortgage, locking them into rental properties for longer, and further increasing demand. In London and most cities in the UK we have an extraordinary amount of foreign investment in property. Entire blocks owned by foreign faceless corporations (many of which are probably offshore shell companies for wealthy entities in the UK) who are happy to let their properties remain empty in order to maintain the average price(s) and sit on the capital gains with little to no maintenance requirement because they just don't have any tenants. For decades now, "buying to let" has been promoted as the easypath for those fortunate enough to invest for their future. Ultra low interest rates, coupled with ever increasing property prices, and charging rent that covers your mortgage repayments, and maintenance, _and_ some extra passive income on top, means it's certainly an attractive option for those who can afford it, and by God has it been taken. News articles of landlords with _hundreds_ of properties in their portfolio is not uncommon. Entire towns owned by a single landlord in some cases. And our political parties treat "house price" like a hot potatoe through fear of being the ones to pop the bubble, cause lots of defaults, and ultimately lose the homeowner vote. In fact most MPs are landlords themselves.